Chapter Twelve

"Three days you've been gone, Larry; what in the hell are you doing?" Bianca asked, staring at a photo on the wall of him and Balki both holding a trophy at a softball game. "I really need you right now. Balki and I both need you! Surely you're not holding a grudge this long."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Bianca jumped. Balki was at work, so she knew it couldn't be him. As much as she hoped, she knew it wasn't Larry, either. Or was it?

"Hey, Appleton; open up! I know you're in there!" a cocky male voice called out from the other side.

Bianca started to shake all over. Who was possibly on the other side? She didn't recognize the voice and her paranoia started to kick into high gear. It grew even worse when she heard a sound as if the person on the other side was picking the lock!

Quickly, she ran into Larry's bedroom and closed the door before the stranger could enter.

"Appleton, come out, come out wherever you are! I know you're faking! When the Mypiot refuses to talk about your so-called 'back problem', I know something's up!" the man sang, seeming almost giddy.

Mr. Gorpley , Bianca realized, remembering how she had overheard Larry tell Balki that Mr. Gorpley was too arrogant for his own good. She needed a plan…and fast!

A few seconds later, there was a rap at the door. "Appleton?"

"Ohhh," Bianca moaned in a low bravado voice.

Apparently, that wasn't good enough. Bianca's eyes grew wide as she saw the doorknob turn. This guy was a crackpot!

"Excuse me, but who do you think you are?" Bianca demanded, beating him to the opening of the door. "I do not believe that you live here."

Mr. Gorpley smiled. "Well, hello. And you are definitely not Larry's girlfriend Jennifer."

Bianca cleared her throat. "That is correct. I am Doctor Bianca Westborne and I am tending to my patient who needs bed rest with no distractions. You are definitely not Balki Bartokomous, whom is the only visitor Mr. Appleton is allowed to have in his room."

"The name's Gorpley; Sam Gorpley. Can I see some proof that you're his doc?" he scoffed. "You certainly don't look like any doctor I know."

"Excuse me, Mr. Gorpley, but if I had to guess, I'd say that you worked at the Chicago Chronicle alongside Mr. Appleton and his cousin. Which also means, if I had to guess, your boss would be Mr. Wainwright. You see, I wrote an excuse for Mr. Appleton to Mr. Wainwright on this prescription pad," she held up the pad for him to see before continuing. "If you don't believe me, then by all means, ask Mr. Wainwright if I am legit. Or I have a better idea? Why don't we just call him instead? I'm sure he'd be interested to know how you used company time to break into this apartment, put Mr. Appleton's well-being at risk and blatantly accused my patient and myself of lying."

Bianca watched with inward glee as Mr. Gorpley's face soured. "No, no; that's quite alright, Doctor Westborne. No need to distract you from Appleton's care. I'll just show myself out," he replied nervously before bolting for the door.

As soon as he was gone, Bianca leaned up against the wall and slid down until she was on the floor. How lucky could she get to not only have the fake prescription pad nearby, but to also manage to throw a few items under the covers to make it look as if Larry were in bed!

Suddenly, the phone rang and once again, Bianca jumped. "I'm getting to be as bad as Balki," she muttered before getting up and running to answer it.

"Hello?" she picked up on the fourth ring.

"Who is this? Mr. Larry….number here…Aunt Liv…I gotta get out of here…grandfather gave me….betrayed me…can't find him…"

Bianca dropped the phone as she instantly recognized her grandfather's device.

"Oh, Larry, why did you have to go back there?" she wailed, sinking back down to the floor and leaning against the bar. Now she knew why Larry hadn't bothered to call. He didn't want her to know he had gone back to when her eleven year old self received the most devastating news of her life. But why would he do this to her? Why would he go back to her most painful time? Why, why, why?

Larry sat in B's closet while she slept. Liv had taken him to the hospital where he needed five stitches for his hand and then returned, only to have her drink herself into a coma. He had wanted to go back to the hotel room he had been staying at, but he also needed to check on B. When he saw that she was still lying underneath the covers, he grabbed a flashlight and took to the closet for privacy.

"Now, let's see what interesting things are in this envelope," he mumbled, pulling the folder from his shirt. Flipping through the patents, he found nothing unusual there, except for the fact she was in possession of them. As far as the death certificate, it was obvious he would have to either ask B or go to the library to research whose name had been marked out. Liv had no memorabilia of a husband ever having been there. What few photos there were inside the house were of Liv herself, wrestlers or bodybuilders.

Suddenly, his eyes skimmed a page with handwriting on it and he shined the flashlight to read it. "Livvie, I know what you're planning to do and I can't let you get away with it. It's not right to take a father and grandfather away from his family. This jealousy over Dad not accepting J.J. is doing something to you; it's changing you into someone I don't recognize. I agree that J.J. is extremely talented, but he's not a blood relative like Bianca. Dad has loved Bianca as his own ever since Ray and Marcy died. He's the only family she knows and she is just like Dad. Dad loves J.J., too, but you can't ask Dad to reject B and embrace J.J. whole-heartedly. It was one thing when you were just jealous, but the whole idea of eventually taking Dad away from everything he knows and loves, not to mention ripping him from B's life…it's wrong , Livvie. As soon as Dad comes back into town, I'm telling him about what you're planning. I'm sorry and I love you, but you are not the person I married. Your husband," Larry read, but stopped when he saw that his name had been scribbled over, as well. The date was still visible, however. "November twelfth, nineteen ninety four….oh my Lord!" he gasped, remembering that Liv's mystery husband had died two days afterward of an apparent suicide. "B's uncle didn't kill himself; Liv murdered him to keep him quiet!"

Larry was just about to get up when he felt something else still inside the envelope. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a cassette tape. This should be interesting, he thought, as he shone the flashlight in the closet, looking for a cassette player that he had seen in B's closet the day he found her locked inside. When he finally found it, he quietly placed the tape in the machine, turned the volume down and pressed play.

"If you've found this tape, this means you've discovered pieces of the mystery. To learn more about Liv's deceit, please go to this address and play the rest of the tape there," a voice that sounded like B's grandfather stated before rattling off an address.

"Wait a second; that address is B's grandfather's house!" Larry realized as he shoved the papers back into the envelope and hid them once again inside his shirt. "I'm going to need B's help."

Sliding the closet door open slowly, he crept out and tiptoes to B's bed. "B, I need you to wake up. We have to go to your grandfather's house. It's important."

When B, didn't stir, he tried again. "B, come on now; wake up."

Still no movement. Larry reached over to touch her shoulder, but felt something soft, instead. Grabbing the covers, he pulled them back and his jaw dropped as he saw that her frame had only been a lump of clothes and shoes. "Oh my Lord."

"It's a good thing I know exactly where you went," Larry mumbled as he raced out of her room and out of the house.